The Australian skipper has delivered brilliant consecutive centuries to guide her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a commanding comprehensive victory over Bangladesh.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113, coming just a few days after her similarly brilliant 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an undefeated double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to chase to their goal of 199 runs in just under 25 overs.
“I felt I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and progress,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of the day's run-chase as the pair put on 202 runs followed possibly the team's shoddiest performance in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for spilling a couple of the half-dozen chances that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and luckily delivered,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was first recorded on fielding metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities marked Australia’s worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” Healy said.
It helped the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with a key batter compiling the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding unbroken ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maidens, was key to making sure Australia’s chase remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Confirms Knockout Spot
Healy was delighted to learn that the triumph, which places her unbeaten side at the top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The experienced skipper raced to her hundred off just 73 balls, the fastest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their fifties.
The Opener Impresses with Maiden Tournament Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her first World Cup half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best stand by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain spilled the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a tough skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also take a clean chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their shout.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Stars
Instead, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by King, whose spell could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record total against the Australians, but the total was made to look easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 against the Indian side a few days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We look forward to returning to the next venue to take on the English team and the Proteas.”
